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Build a Home Made Telescope

These plans are for a homemade telescope that will be cheap to build.

THE 6-inch f/8 Newtonian reflecting
telescope is probably the most popular
star gazing instrument in use by amateur
astronomers. This is easily understood
when we examine the instrument in more
detail.

The "6-inch" refers to the diameter of
the objective or main mirror of the telescope
and thus affects the diameter of the
main telescope tube. The name "Newtonian" refers to the
over-all design of this type of reflecting
telescope in which rays from the objective
or main mirror are focused onto a smaller
mirror known as the "diagonal."

It is enough to say that the Newtonian
design is simply the most practical and
least expensive for nonprofessional instruments.
The word "reflecting," of course,
distinguishes this scope from a refractor in
which the light rays are "bent" through
and focused behind a lens instead of being "bounced" away from and focused in front
of a mirror.

It's about
the largest telescope you can comfortably
carry. Much larger reflectors—those over
8 inches in mirror diameter—require the
construction of a permanent observatory.
Another obvious reason for the popularity
of Newtonian reflectors this size or
smaller is price.